1. Independent Contractors: The current
provisions are too far-reaching.

Clause 154 and Clause
6 (2) must be dropped to ensure current employment
arrangements are safeguarded.

2. Information
Disclosure: The provisions must be constrained and limited
only to bargaining. The Bill must specify the appointment of
an expert third party to respond to requests for information
from union officials. Provision needed to require unions to
provide information about membership and financial
status.

3. Choice of Representative: Reinstate Clause 11
from ECA giving employees right to ban serious criminals
from acting as their bargaining agent.

4. Good Faith
Bargaining: Needs to be defined in legislation to ensure
consistency and to avoid Bill's current reliance on
negotiated codes between workplaces.

5. Direct
Communication with Staff: Remove constraints on employers
talking to staff at any time.

6. Collective
Agreements: Allow non-union members to negotiate enforceable
collective agreements without having to join the union.

7.
Continuity of Employment: Remove Clause 66. Unheard of in
other jurisdictions. Redundancy provisions should be part of
contract negotiations.

8. Multi-employer
Bargaining: Clause 53 should be dropped unless
multi-employer bargaining is agreed to between parties,
as it is now.

9. Employment Relations Authority: Remove
the new structure. It will promote more litigation. Retain
the status quo, make the Employment Court a division of the
District Court and ensure the Employment Tribunal is
properly resourced.

10. Mediation Service: Must be
independent of Labour Department and independent of
Government influence. 11. Personal Grievances: Remove
provision that reinstatement is the primary remedy. It is
unworkable and impractical.

12. Other Legislation: Amend
to ensure Bill is consistent with the Commerce Act and
Stock Exchange listing requirements.

13. Employment
Related Education Leave: Remove provision for employers to
fund leave. Government should establish a central fund for
unions and firms to tap into, or it should be pay for out of
union levies.

14. Union Entry to Workplaces: Constrain
proposed far-reaching right of access to workplace. No
right of access for recruitment. Recruitment should be
undertaken outside business hours.

17. Union Monopoly: Include provision for
unions to be subjected to the Commerce Act.

18. Remove
Prescriptive Process: The Bill is littered with
inflexibility and prescription. These should be removed to
allow employers, employees and unions to determine their own
collective bargaining processes which are appropriate for
their particular circumstances.

19. Bargaining Provisions
for Collective Agreements: Current provisions open door for
increased litigation and costs.

20. Individual
Agreements: Remove onerous conditions on those moving from a
collective to an individual agreement.

21. Strikes: Remove
the prohibition on the use of employees during strikes and
the constraints covering the use of outside workers during
strike action.

Explicitly prohibit strike action for
economic and social reasons.

22. Fixed Term
Contracts: Allow fixed term contracts as provided for in the
HAGG Court of Appeal decisions

23. Union Coverage:
Remove potential for demarcation disputes.

24. Ballot
Provisions: Tighten up the ratification and multi-employer
provisions. Ensure secret ballot and that all workers
affected are balloted.

25. Penalties: Specify penalties
for breaches and misdemeanours under the Employment
Relations
Act.

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